harlequin

▪ I. harlequin, n.
    (ˈhɑːlɪkwɪn, -kɪn)
    Forms: 6 harlicken, 7 harlaken(e, -keen(e, -kin, arlequin, 7– harlequin.
    [a. Fr. harlequin (1585 in Hatz.-Darm.), arlequin, ad. It. arlecchino.
    The Italian word is possibly the same as OFr. Hellequin, Herlequin, Herlekin, Hierlekin, Hielekin, Helquin, Hennequin, a devil celebrated in mediæval legend, esp. in la maisnie Helequin, Harlequini familia (Miège), a company or troop of demon horsemen riding by night. Of this the ultimate origin is possibly Teutonic. See Diez, Mahn Etymol. Untersuch., Godefroy, Skeat.]
    I. 1. a. A character in Italian comedy, subsequently in French light comedy; in English pantomime a mute character supposed to be invisible to the clown and pantaloon; he has many attributes of the clown (his rival in the affections of Columbine) with the addition of mischievous intrigue; he usually wears particoloured bespangled tights and a visor, and carries a light ‘bat’ of lath as a magic wand.
    (In reference to quot. 1590, it may be noticed that the arlecchino is said, in Italian Dictionaries, to have originally represented the simple and facetious Bergamese man-servant. Cf. the stage Irishman.)

1590 Nashe Almond for Parrat Ded., Taking Bergamo in my waye homeward..It was my happe..to light in felowship with that famous Francattip' Harlicken, who..asked me many particulars of the order and maner of our playes. 1606 Day Ile of Guls ii. iii, Like a Harlakene in an Italian comedy. 1607 Day, etc. Trav. Eng. Bro. (1881) 56 Here's an Italian Harlaken come to offer a play to your Lordship. 1612 Heywood Apol. Actors ii. 43 To omit all the Doctors, Zawnyes, Pantaloones, Harlakeenes, in which the French, but especially the Italians, have beene excellent. 1676 Dryden Epil. Etheredge's Man of Mode, Those nauseous Harlequins in Farce may pass. 1704 Addison Italy (1766) 68 Harlequin's part is made up of blunders and absurdities. 1727 Fielding Love in Sev. Masques ii. i, A man of sense acts a lover just as a Dutchman would a harlequin. 1756 Foote Eng. fr. Paris i. Wks. 1799 I. 107 A bundle of contradictions, a piece of patch-work, a mere harlequin's coat. 1757 Smeaton in Phil. Trans. L. 204 As if an harlequin had leaped thro' the window. 1759 Johnson Gen. Concl. Brumoy's Grk. Theat. (R.), They represented..a complete tragedy or comedy in the same manner as dumb harlequin is exhibited on our theatres. 1778 J. Q. Adams Diary 28 Apr. Wks. 1851 III. 146 In the evening we went to the Italian comedy, where I saw a harlequin for the first time. 1817 Byron Beppo iii, Harlequins and clowns, with feats gymnastical. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. I. 81 The papal guard in their..party-colored dress..looking not a little like harlequins.

    b. transf. A buffoon in general; a fantastic fellow.

1878 Carlyle in Ld. R. Gower My Remin. xxvii. (1883) II. 175 [He called Beaconsfield] ‘that melancholy harlequin’.

    2. A small breed of spotted dogs. So G. harlekin (Grimm).

1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. III. viii. 286 The mongrel kind..the Dutch mastiff, the harlequin,..and the Dane.

    3. More fully harlequin duck. A northern species of duck, Histrionicus minutus, with fantastically variegated plumage.

1772 Forster in Phil. Trans. LXII. 419 Anas. A. Histrionica..Harlequin Duck. 1863 Kingsley Water Bab. vii. 269 Swans and brantgeese, harlequins and eiders. 1876 Smiles Sc. Natur. xiii, The Harlequin..and the Eider duck visit the loch occasionally in winter. 1884 Harper's Mag. Apr. 706/2 Harlequin-ducks of the gayest plumage.

    4. The Oriental or noble opal. Also attrib.

1873 C. Robinson N.S. Wales 62 Opals..Amongst the polished stones are some of the harlequin class.

    II. 5. attrib. or as adj. Having the characteristics of a harlequin or of his dress; burlesque, ludicrous; particoloured.
    harlequin china, harlequin service, harlequin set, a name given to a set of cups, etc., of different colours and patterns.

1779 Wilkes Corr. (1805) V. 223 A formal declaration of war by harlequin heralds. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) vi. i, A china Shakspeare and Milton in Harlequin jackets. 1859 Helps Friends in C. Ser. ii. I. Addr. to Rdr. 10 At this Harlequin period of the world what is written one week may seem obsolete the next. 1871 Mrs. Whitney Real Folks xiii. (Cent.), She had six lovely little harlequin cups on a side-shelf in her china-closet..rose, and brown, and gray, and vermilion, and green, and blue.

    6. Comb., as harlequin-leap, harlequin-preacher; harlequin-looking adj. Also harlequin bat, an Indian species, Scotophilus ornatus, of pale tawny-brown, variegated with white spots; harlequin beetle, a South American longicorn beetle, Acrocinus longimanus, with particoloured elytra; harlequin brant, the American white-fronted goose, Anser albifrons gambeii, also called pied or speckled brant; harlequin bug Austral., either of two bugs with brightly-coloured markings, Dindymus versicolor or Tectocoris diophthalmus; harlequin cabbage-bug, an American hemipterous insect, Murgantia histrionica, having brilliant markings; † harlequin deer, ? a particoloured fallow deer; harlequin duck: see 3; harlequin (eye)glasses, spectacles, spectacles with the frame tilted upwards at the corners (named from their resemblance to a harlequin's mask); harlequin fish, (a) Rasbora heteromorpha, a small cypriniform fish found in Thailand, Malaya, and Sumatra; (b) Othos dentex, the scarlet rock cod, a perciform fish found along the coasts of south and west Australia; harlequin-flower, a name of the South African genus Sparaxis, N.O. Iridaceæ, with great variety of colouring; harlequin fly, a fly of the genus Chironomus; harlequin garrot, the golden-eye duck or pied wigeon, a species of Clangula; harlequin (Great) Dane, a Great Dane having a black and white coat; harlequin moth, the magpie moth, Abraxas grossulariata; harlequin opal = harlequin n. 4; harlequin pigeon, an Australian Bronze-wing pigeon; harlequin ring (see quot.); harlequin rose, a variety of rose with striped petals; harlequin smiler, Merogymnus eximius, a small Australian perciform fish; harlequin snake, the coral-snake and other species of Elaps, so called from their variegated colouring of orange and black.

1865 Wood Homes without H. viii. (1868) 176 The magnificent insect which is known to entomologists as the *Harlequin Beetle..belongs to the wood-burrowers. 1882 Stanford's Compend. Geogr., Central Amer. 128 The most deadly enemy of the gum-elastic tree is..the well-known ‘harlequin beetle’.

1945 K. C. M{supc}Keown Austral. Insects xv. 81 The commonest and best known species [of Pyrrhocoridæ] is the striking red and black insect popularly known as the *Harlequin Bug (Dindymus versicolor Sch.), found throughout Australia, and attacking apples and other fruits. 1970 T. E. Woodward et al. in Insects of Australia (C.S.I.R.O.) xxvi. 450/1 Tectocoris diophthalmus (Thunb.), the ‘harlequin bug’ of Queensland, attacks the bolls of cotton, and is common on other malvaceous plants.

1872 C. V. Riley in 4th Ann. Rep. Missouri Entomol. 35 *Harlequin cabbage bug.

1778 Eng. Gazetteer s.v. Ickworth, A park well stocked with the fine *harlequin-deer.

1945 ‘L. Lewis’ Birthday Murder (1951) i. 7 Her *harlequin eyeglasses became crooked on her pointed face. 1961 Wodehouse Service with Smile ix. 130 She was regarding him austerely through her harlequin glasses.

1956 M. West Gallows on Sand x. 115 A school of *harlequin fish flirted away from my descent, their tube-like bodies flashing blue and gold, their ugly faces smiling like a circus clown's. 1959 Times 3 Mar. 7/1 The ‘guinea pigs’ in these experiments are inch-long harlequin fish..from south-east Asia.

1900 Miall & Hammond (title) The structure and life history of the *harlequin fly (Chironomus). 1956 Nature 17 Mar. 534/1 The family Chironomidae has scarcely been studied at all in New Zealand... Known colloquially as the ‘Harlequin fly’, they are, it seems, almost ubiquitous.

1863 Baring-Gould Iceland 162 A magnificent *harlequin garrot floated unmoved within a stones throw.

1800 *Harlequin Dane [see Dane 2]. 1909 Daily Chron. 28 July 7/1 A black and white or harlequin Great Dane. 1948 ‘Sigma’ in B. Vesey-Fitzgerald Bk. Dog ii. 420 When smart men drove a well-appointed turnout, a Dalmatian or harlequin Great Dane was necessary to complete the picture.

1813 Examiner 1 Feb. 69/2 A *harlequin-leap through a window.

1835 Willis Pencillings I. xv. 111 The *harlequin-looking Swiss guard.

1887 Col. & Indian Exhib., Rep. Col. Sect. 70 Some specimens are of a rare kind, known as ‘*Harlequin’ opals.

1847 Leichhardt Jrnl. vii. 227 We saw two flocks of the *harlequin pigeon (Peristera histrionica).

1760 Jortin Erasm. II. 195 Stories of a *Harlequin-Preacher, who used to surprise his audience with his monkey-tricks.

1877 W. Jones Finger-ring 414 *Harlequin-rings..were so called because they were set round with variously-coloured stones.

1876 T. Hardy Ethelberta (1890) 194 They were striped, red and white, and appeared to be leaves of the *Harlequin rose.

1955 A. Ross Australia 55 ix. 118 Sharks..whose presence causes..coral trout and *Harlequin Smilers suddenly to evaporate. 1964 T. C. Marshall Fishes of Great Barrier Reef 326 Harlequin Smiler Merogymnus eximius.

1885 C. F. Holder Marvels Anim. Life 131 The coloring of the *harlequin [snake]..is exceedingly rich.

1940 Optometric Weekly 19 Dec. 1262 The *Harlequin spectacle frame is protected by patents. 1962 J. Braine Life at Top xii. 154 Her harlequin spectacles didn't make her expression any less severe.

    Hence harlequina, -ess, a female harlequin. harlequiˈnesque, harleˈquinic adjs., having the style of a harlequin. harleˈquinically adv., after the manner of a harlequinade. ˈharlequinism, the performance of a harlequin; action characteristic of a harlequin. ˈharlequinize v., to convert into a harlequin; to dress or do up in fantastical colouring.

1867 *Harlequina [see harlequinade a.]

1882 Stevenson New Arab. Nts. II. xii. 222 His blouse was stained with oil colours in a *harlequinesque disorder.

1785 in Cornh. Mag. (1883) June 718 Humorous and characteristic masks; among the best of which we reckon..a whimsical *harlequiness.

1804 Miniature No. 4. 14 (title) Ode to the Rainbow, in the genuine Fantastical, Unmeaning, *Harlequinic Style of Sentimental Sonneteers.

1824 W. Taylor in Monthly Rev. CIII. 47 The Tale..is..so *harlequinically metamorphosing.

1808 Edin. Rev. XII. 203 The philosophical *harlequinism of that valiant knight. a 1852 Webster Wks. (1877) I. 345 In popular governments, men must not..be disgusted by occasional exhibitions of political harlequinism.

1876 R. Broughton Joan ii. viii. III. 225 The small dining-room..is travestied indeed and *harlequinized like the rest of the house.

▪ II. harlequin, v.
    [f. prec. n.]
    a. trans. To conjure away, like harlequin in a pantomime. rare. b. intr. To play the harlequin. rare. c. trans. To colour, decorate with contrasting colours. So ˈharlequined ppl. a.

1737 M. Green Spleen (1807) 148 And Kitten, if the humour hit Has harlequin'd away the fit. 1828 Webster, Harlequin, to play the droll; to make sport by playing ludicrous tricks.

1941 ‘R. West’ Black Lamb II. 304 A slope of long grass harlequined with flowers. 1959 Housewife June 5 The two colours daringly harlequinned. 1963 Harper's Bazaar July 44 Shetland jumper—white, harlequinned in different greys. 1965 D. Francis For Kicks iv. 49 She wore a black and white harlequined ski-ing jacket.

Oxford English Dictionary